Euskal Oiloa Chicken Forum

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Re: Help with picking a Roo.

Older fella has nice yellow legs, but so does the young guy. Older is also very light with much white in tail, he may throw a lot of light chicks, while the youngster seems to have more of the golden buff red color we want. The younger one also has the beginnings of nicely barred sickles, saddle feathers and hackle. I also don't see any white in his primaries which is a detractor in the older bird. Younger guy seems to have a longer head, which is what we need to be selecting for as well according to that last APA judge. I'd lean to the youngster, but I'd keep the old guy around as long as I could as insurance.

Last edited by riverbendfarm (2014-01-14 01:43:34)

No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.~Heraclitus

Re: Help with picking a Roo.

OK! So glad you are pointing things out:)I was planning to keep them both but needed help developing an eye. I am rehoming ALL the other breeds so I will have TONS of room for this special breed. But, need to breed up quality each and every year.

Re: Help with picking a Roo.

I agree with the comments so far, I also prefer the younger Roo but with the age difference it is a bit hard to compare them.

I like the young Roos cleaner barring as well as his more golden color. He may still get white in the tail but it will likely be less than your other Roo. Both Roos have very little grey in the chest which is good.

Do either have side sprigs (I think not)?What about feather stubs?And how are they for temperament?

And do you have (or can you take) pictures or look at them from above? I am thinking about length of back and width of their backs near the tail. Some EOs have short backs and a pinched tail which I don't think is desirable.

Agree with hanging onto both. I would say both are worthy of breeding from what I can see in the pictures. Not a bad start la-chicken! And it's wonderful the EOs will be THE breed going forward!

Re: Help with picking a Roo.

I can try and get an arial shot. Sort of seperated them tonight as well grab some shots......Got them away from the Jersey Giant Roos (5) So ALL the other Roosters are in their own in a pen and a mixture of other girls are with the EO Family.These roosters are friendly yet unsure. Which I like, shows they know I am not a chicken. But, they are at my feet and not on them.

Re: Help with picking a Roo.

It is so so cool to see these birds thank you so much for posting them! In some weird way I feel related now I will be the Aunt or Granny that everyone runs away from and visits way too long Please please please check each breast bone for a crooked keel!! This is so important and since I learned how to check this properly I am a little shocked at how it can be so easily missed. You need to run your fingers/hand along the breastbone/keel and then all the way down towards the tail end. Don't stop too soon so as not to check it all the way down. I recently butchered an EO with this issue and was shocked at how pronounced it was!

poplar girl wrote:

I agree with the comments so far, I also prefer the younger Roo but with the age difference it is a bit hard to compare them.

I like the young Roos cleaner barring as well as his more golden color. He may still get white in the tail but it will likely be less than your other Roo. Both Roos have very little grey in the chest which is good.

Do either have side sprigs (I think not)?What about feather stubs?And how are they for temperament?

And do you have (or can you take) pictures or look at them from above? I am thinking about length of back and width of their backs near the tail. Some EOs have short backs and a pinched tail which I don't think is desirable.

Agree with hanging onto both. I would say both are worthy of breeding from what I can see in the pictures. Not a bad start la-chicken! And it's wonderful the EOs will be THE breed going forward!

I agree with the assessments made of these two birds and would very much like to see a close overhead shot of each one as well. Bird number two hs too much white imo but its always good to have a spare roo. Casn we have a nice head close up too I love to assess combs, read comb snob here!

Also wondering what you mean by head length riverbendfarms? This is something I need to learn about.

Re: Help with picking a Roo.

I agree with what everybody else already said.

In the pic, the older fella looks unbalanced to me too - more chicken in the front half, not as much in the back. I like the crisper barring on the younger fella. Monika, if you look at the heads on the two boys, the younger lad has a "rectangle" head (longer front-to-back than he is from top-to-bottom). The older fella's head is more square.

I'd also like to see shots from the top and the front, to see the width of the boys. Nice start La!!

When all else fails, go spend time with your chickens.

Pens are currently filled with Red Cuckoo (Marraduna) and Red Basque (Gorria) breeders, Spitz, and Seramas.

Re: Help with picking a Roo.

La-chicken in the last photo you can see your roo has a side sprig. Now not saying that mean's don't breed him...a judge once told me although combs are important you don't eat them...it is something to select against (and is a DQ at a show). As Amblecroft said, sometimes you can breed a roo with a side sprig and not have it show up in the chicks but it will increase the likelihood of it showing up in the chicks or their chicks.

2nd last pic (same roo?) he also has some white in his earlobe. Again not huge but keep breeding birds with that trait and you will end up with lots of white in the earlobes which is a DQ.

I think both those pictures are are older roo. If so I am going to say for sure I would pick your younger roo to use for breeding as a first choice.

Re: Help with picking a Roo.

I'm really liking the close up shots, it really is amazing what you can see in a picture. Sometimes skulking behind & around & overtop and well ... I know you know ... 100 icky blurry pictures to get one worthy of posting. Keep up the good work. I think you have made a good choice but as for eating #2 well, you just never know ... wait and see what Feb 23rd brings you